The earliest recorded member of this group is Adolf Aufrichtig, for whom documentation records him as having been born in Austria about 1864. Adolf is believed to have emigrated to the U.S. around 1890 as his first two children Samuel Aufrichtig (b1884) and Hinde [Annie] Aufrichtig (1888) are credited with having been born in Austria, a fact confirmed in April 1892 when they travelled with their mother, Bertha Aufrichtig (maiden name unknown) to New York on board the SS Norwegian. It seems fairly certain to assume that this was the time of their immigration into the United States.

There is very little Internet documentation on Adolf whose name was first Anglicised to read "Adolph" and then either subsequently changed to "Arthur" or merely adopted by him in preference. He did not appear on any 1900 Census forms and was first included in one in the afore-mentioned 1910 Census when living at 246 East Houston Street, New York. The area, credited on the Census form as being Ward 11 in the Borough of Manhattan, was in the heart of the then Jewish quarter, close to Delancey Street. On this form he was listed as Arthur Aufrichtig, and appeared with his wife, who was now using the name Bessie, and their children Samuel, Annie, Sarah, Max (1900), Sidney (c1902), Nathan (1904) and Benjamin M (1908). His age was given as 50, and his "estimated birth year" as 1860 - a four year discrepancy over other documentation.

The 1910 Census form did not include Sylvia Aufrichtig, whom it was established had been born c1896. Instead, it featured Sarah Aufrichtig, whose age was entered as 15, suggesting a birth year of 1894/5. Ten years later, the 1920 Census featured Sylvia, whom it credited as being born about 1898, but no mention of Sarah who, according to the earlier Census, would have been three years older! Present day members of the family deny any knowledge of Sarah, raising the suggestion that this may, perhaps, have been Sylvia's Hebrew name. If one chooses to overlook the three-year age discrepancy, the confusion over names could be somewhat similar to confirmed instances of Adolf/Arthur, Bertha/Bessie and Hinde/Annie. Despite Adolf and Bessie's large family, the gaps in their children's ages nevertheless suggests that, possibly, there may have been others unaccounted for. Certainly, the non-inclusion of  Sarah and her replacement with Sylvia as their first child to be born in New York, creates a nine-year period. It is worth noting that in New York City during this period, the birth was recorded, in November 1897, of a Rosie Aufrichtig, who sadly died on 29 August the following year.

Adolf's son Max actually appeared on two 1910 Census forms. As well as being included in that of East Houston Street, which had been conducted on 21 April, he was also featured on the Census carried out three weeks later on 12 May 1910 in Howell Twp, Monmouth, New Jersey where he was a patient at the Tuberculosis Preventorium.

At the time of the 1920 Census, which was conducted on January 3rd, Adolf and his family were living at 1330 Intervale Avenue, The Bronx, New York. He was again listed as Arthur Aufrichtig, on this occasion neither Samuel nor Annie being present. His age was given as 56, thereby matching documentation suggesting he was born c1864 and the Census form advised that he had emigrated to the U.S. in 1891. [On first being transcribed, the Census handwriting had mistakenly been deciphered as "Arthur Aufrichtiz".] The 1920 Census also advised that Samuel had married Yetta Milrod, with whom he had a daughter, Jean Aufrichtig, born two years earlier in 1918, and son Jessie I Aufrichtig in 1921.

Jean never married, but Jessie wed Ethel R Horowitz (1919-1999). The couple had a son, Michael Lawrence Aufrichtig (b1955). Michael married Amy Lederman, with whom he has two daughters, Elyse Aufrichtig and Erin Aufrichtig.

By the most extraordinary of coincidences, Max was again hospitalised directly after the 3 January 1920 Census and, on the night of 6 January 1920 was recorded as being an in-patient at the Manhattan State Hospital. For the second time in the 1920 Census, his name had been inaccurately transcribed - this time being listed as "Anfrichtig".

In 1930, the family were still living at Intervale Avenue in The Bronx  and consisted of Adolf, Bessie, Max and Sidney. This marked the first occasion on which Adolf had been included under his proper name, albeit with Anglicised spelling.

According to the Italian Genealogical Group, Adolf Aufrichtig died on 7 February 1937 aged 74, and wife Bessie had pre-deceased him on 19 March 1932 aged 60. Age-wise, this would be a close match for Adolf, but Bessie's age has never remained consistent. In 1910 she was listed as 45 compared to Adolf's 50. In 1920 Adolf's age was given as 56, and she two years younger at 54. In 1930 Adolf was credited with being 65 and Bessie retained the two-year difference and was described as 63. When she died two years later, her age dropped by another three years. Both Adolf and Bessie were buried at Mt Hebron Cemetery, New York.

Sylvia is known to have married and to have had a daughter named Doris in 1923. Doris married Solomon [Sol] Fruchter. He died in 1981, and she two years later in July 1983. Adolf and Bertha's six child, and fourth of their five sons, Nathan Aufrichtig (1904-1979) married Mildred Segal (1908-1994) in 1928 in New York. The US Census of 1930 credited the couple with  a son, Edward M Aufrichtig, born in New York in 1929. This should more accurately have listed Edwin M Aufrichtig, who had been born in June 1928. In November 1934 they had a second son, Burton Aufrichtig. Edwin  Marvin Aufrichtig married Bernice Marcus, with whom he had four children, Merrill Rhea Aufrichtig, Russell Miles Aufrichtig  and Andrew Eric Aufrichtig, prior to changing the family name to Allen, and Elayne Annette Allen born soon after. By 2008, Edwin was the grandfather of eight and a great-great-grandfather. Younger brother Burton married Janette Brown. The couple had no children. Both Bernice and Janette pre-deceased their husbands.

Youngest of Adolf and Bertha's children, Benjamin M Aufrichtig (1908-1993) married Rose ~~~ in the late Thirties. His status as a married man is confirmed by his 28 September 1942 U.S. Army Enlistment Record which records his residence county as Pinellas, Florida. Rose died in May 1963, and Benjamin married again, two years later  in 1965 in Hillsborough, Florida - on this occasion to Ruth Lillian Weinberg (1911-1992). Pinellas records of the Thirties also include a Marcia Esther Aufrichtig, for whom there is no additional information either linking her to this family group or any of the others featured on this website.

Special thanks go to Michael Aufrichtig and his cousins Edwin Aufrichtig [Allen] and Burton [Aufrichtig], without whose co-operation and efforts this section of the website could never have materialised. Through their participation, it transpired that Nathan Aufrichtig had been advised that the family was connected to the one that owned the Aufrichtig Dairy at Kingston Avenue/Eastern Parkway. While there is no documentation to support this, Adolf's place of birth makes this a possibility. An even stronger likelihood is of a connection between his family and the Dolniany-Rohatyn Aufrichtigs, a large number of which were born in the same town of Rohatyn as Adolf.

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